Sensitivity of Irrigation Water Requirement to Climate Change in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions towards Sustainable Management of Water Resources

Fouad H. Saeed, Mahmoud S. Al-Khafaji and Furat A. Mahmood Al-Faraj
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Fouad H. Saeed: Civil Engineering Department, University of Technology, Baghdad 10096, Iraq
Mahmoud S. Al-Khafaji: Civil Engineering Department, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad 10070, Iraq
Furat A. Mahmood Al-Faraj: School of Engineering, University of Bolton, Bolton BL3 5AB, UK

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-21

Abstract: This study aimed to assess the spatiotemporal sensitivity of the net irrigation water requirement (NIWR) to changes in climate, for sixteen crops widely cultivated in four irrigation projects located in arid and semi-arid regions of Iraq. Using LARS-WG and five GCMs, the minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation were projected for three periods from 2021–2080 with 20-year steps (P1, P2, and P3) under representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5. Weather data available for a reference period from 1990–2019 in four representatives’ meteorological stations were used. The climate variables and other required data were inserted into the CROPWAT 8 NIWR tool. Findings revealed that the increase in the NIWR for the considered crops due to climate change falls in the range 0.1–42.4%, 1.8–44.5%, 1.2–25.1%, and 0.7–14.7% for the North Jazeera Irrigation Project (NJIP), Kirkuk Irrigation Project (KRIP), Upper Khalis Irrigation Project (UKIP), and Dalmaj Irri-gation Project (DLIP), respectively. Barley is more susceptible to changes in climate, whereas maize, potato, soybean, and millet are found to withstand changes in climate better than others. The novel outcomes of this study support optimal spatiotemporal allocation of irrigation water requirement and the sustainable management of water resources in a changing climate in arid and semi-arid regions.

Keywords: LARS-WG; CROPWAT; reference evapotranspiration; irrigation; climate change; Iraq (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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